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DAPCAN
Desert AIDS Project - Community Action Newsletter
September 22, 2011
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"Autumn in Palm Springs," by
Jack Wilkinson Smith, 1873 - 1949 |
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Editorial Staff
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David Brinkman
Chief Executive Officer
Barry Dayton
Director of Marketing and Communications
Alexis Ortega
Interactive Marketing
Specialist
Rick Vila
Volunteer Co-editor
John Lewis
Volunteer Co-editor
Steve Bolerjack
Volunteer Co-editor
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| Save the Date | |
Tuesday, October 4, 6:00 PM
Positive Life Series - HIV & the Brain
 The next presentation in the monthly Positive Life HIV education series will focus on neurocognitive problems associated with HIV, featuring Dr. Ron Ellis of UCSD. A light supper will be served starting at 6:00 PM, and the program will begin at 6:30 PM. The location is the Sinatra Auditorium at Desert Regional Medical Center (at the corner of Tachevah and Via Miraleste in Palm Springs), and is always free. ASL translation will be provided. Please email or call Jeff Taylor at jefftaylorps@gmail.com, or 760.835.1926, with any questions. Future presentations include:
- November 1, Accessing HIV Benefits--Social Security, Medicare Part D, etc.
- December 6, Aging with HIV--speaker Nelson Vergel
Saturday, October 22, 7:30 AM
Palm Springs AIDS Walk 2011
 It's time to sign up! The twenty-fourth annual Palm Springs AIDS walk is coming up soon! Follow this link for information and registration.
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| Community Center Events | |
The Client Community Center hosts regular activities and events every week (listed below). Community Center special events and other activities can now be found on the main D.A.P. website. Click here for the complete list of upcoming special events.
Friday, October 7, Noon to 1:00 PM
 Community Center Presents: WHO WANTS TO BE AN HIV EXPERT?
Join us at a luncheon sponsored by ViiV Healthcare, facilitated by Jeffrey Bach, Clinical Specialist. Lunch will be served at 11:45 AM. Please RSVP to Ray at 760.323.2118 ext. 295 by Wednesday October 5th @ 3:00PM or rrobertson@desertaidsproject.org
Protect your health, sign up now!
First and Third Tuesday, Every Month, 4:30 - 6:00 PM
Community Center Presents: POZITIVELY POSITIVE
D.A.P. Community Center is pleased to support this peer-led group for HIV+ men striving to live a more empowered and healthier life. Discussion topics are chosen by group members. For more information please contact the group's facilitator, Tim Neuman at 323.854.3248.
Stay strong!
Every Thursday, 1:00 PM
Community Center Presents, September 29:
LET'S ALL GO TO THE MOVIES
 The Queen is a 2006 British drama directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren in the title role as Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The story focuses on events surrounding the death of Princess Diana and how they affected the monarchy, forever changing its relationship with the people of England.
Roll film!
Regular Client Community Center activities include:
- Support groups
- Spiritual Living 101
- Hepatitis C Therapy Education
- Diabetes Education
- Stitch in Time (needlecraft), Wednesdays, 10:00 AM
- Community Center Computer Lab
- Lending Library
- Free films, Thursdays, 1:00 PM
Follow this link to see the recurring activities on the Community Center Calendar.
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| Dance with the Desert Stars this weekend!
The Palm Springs Convention Center will sparkle this Saturday evening, September 24, when local "Desert Stars" pair up with professional dancers at a major benefit for D.A.P. client services. The fun begins with cocktails at 6:00 PM, followed by the show at 7:00 PM. Celebrity judges include Grammy Award winner Thelma Houston, Emmy Award winner Leslie Jordan, and Anya Fuchs, a professional dancer featured on the ABC-TV hit, Dancing with the Stars. With general admission seating available at only $40, tickets are still available. VIP seating, including cocktails and appetizers, is also available for $100. To buy tickets, please call 760.322.3554 or visit ReactionShows.com. (jl)
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Help honor those lost to AIDS at Steve Chase Awards
 If you have photographs of friends and loved ones who died of AIDS, we invite you to help us pay tribute to them at a special, on-screen remembrance at the 18th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards next February. They need not have been clients of Desert AIDS Project. Please email digital photos, with names and birth and death years to info@desertaidsproject.org. Print photos may be dropped off at or mailed to the main Desert AIDS Project, 1695 N. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262. Please be assured we will handle your treasured photos with the utmost care and will return them to you along with a digital copy of any photo you are generous enough to share. (jl)
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Super Revivals opens at Palm Desert Costco Center
The first Super Revivals store opened this week at the Costco Center at 72800 Monterey Drive. With its huge size and selection, you'll understand why Revivals was deemed Best Valley Thrift Store by readers of The Desert Sun. The new superstore will carry the usual high quality, value priced items Revivals is famous for, along with consignments and new merchandise. Come check it out! (jl) (sb)
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Finally, some good news on HIV transmission rates
For the first time, researchers have discovered that a cell-based therapy for HIV/AIDS can reduce the amount of virus in infected people. The breakthrough was announced last week at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Chicago. To date, the only treatment for HIV has been multidrug regimens that prolong life but never eliminate the virus. "The data are very encouraging," says Edward Lanphier, CEO of Sangamo Biosciences, which conductd the study. "We are seeing a statistically significant correlation between our treatment and viral load reduction." Other scientists agree this is a significant step, but advise caution and further study, emphasizing that these results cannot in any way yet be considered a cure. Click here for full information and other opinions. (sb) Back to top |
Promising results in new HIV vaccine trial
 Researchers have isolated two immune system responses to an HIV vaccine that may indicate whether the vaccine will protect certain individuals. The research is the result of Phase III clinical trial, RV-144, which involved more than 16,000 healthy adults in Thailand. Results showed that the vaccine was 31 percent effective, and investigators deemed it "modestly protective." Read more here at POZ magazine. (sb)
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HIV/AIDS and Latinas: What does gender have to do with it?
Hispanic women account for 18 percent of all HIV cases among women and for 21 percent of cumulative AIDS cases among women. In addition, AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death for Latinas, aged 25-44. Yet these women too often remain overlooked in prevention and treatment efforts. TheBody.com is running a two-part panel discussion including HIV experts, Latina activists and AIDS patients on the unique issues facing Hispanic women of various economic statuses who are living with HIV/AIDS. One of the key contributors is Susan Rodriguez (pictured), a woman living with HIV and co-founder of the Sisterhood Mobilized for AIDS/HIV Research and Treatment (SMART) University. Read the entire discussion here. (sb) Back to top |
HIV care in disadvantaged communities--some success in Baltimore via Johns Hopkins University
Those living with HIV/AIDS have certainly seen some improvements in access to treatment over the past few years. However, much depends on where you live, your socio-economic status and access to information. The Moore Clinic at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, which serves these types of disadvantaged HIV communities, recently released a report on the strategies, outreach and other efforts that have increased access to HIV care in some of the poorest parts of the city. As reported in POZ, these efforts may applicable in many other locations. Read more here. (sb)
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| Powerful AIDS documentary We Were Here to be shown at Cinema Diverse, Palm Springs Gay Film Festival
 Your editors recently screened We Were Here, a poignant and dignified documentary about the devastation of AIDS in San Francisco in the 1980s. Frankly, we approached it with some trepidation--we had each lived through the period, dealing with our own HIV fears and issues while friends were dying all around us. We thought (and our readers may also think), why would I want to go through all that again? The answer is that the film is an accurate, appropriate account of our own history--and what so many of us experienced ought not be forgotten. It sensitively recounts the major turning point in the LGBT community and that story must be passed on. In fact, we watched the film with some young people in their early twenties, not even born when the epidemic began. Instead of viewing it as ancient history, the film elicited questions and discussions and we found ourselves in the role of wise old sages. However difficult it may be for some, we urge everyone to see it. Again, it's our own story. Click here for more information and here for the Cinema Diverse schedule. It will be shown September 30 at Camelot Theatre. (sb)
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Government HIV/AIDS site connects to new social media
 We've been fairly impressed with blog.AIDS.gov, the federal government's website that brings together a fairly good variety of HIV/AIDS information. It is now pointing readers to new information on Google+, a social media site that arguably, may pose a major challenge to mega-site Facebook. We're not yet convinced, but it may be worth checking out ( here) the Google+ connection on HIV. (sb) Back to Top |
We the People: A new way to petition the White House
 The White House recently announced an upcoming addition to its offical website, WhiteHouse.gov called We the People which may significantly change how the public engages with the White House online. With We the People, you can submit an online petition on a range of issues--and get an official response. Read more here. (jl)
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"Don't ask, don't tell" comes to an overdue, but welcome end
 "Today marks the end of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell.' The law is repealed. From this day forward, gay and lesbian Soldiers may serve in our Army with the dignity and respect they deserve. Our rules, regulations and politics reflect the repeal guidance issued by the Department of Defense and will apply uniformly without regard to sexual orientation, which is a personal and private matter." With that official Declaration, dated September 20, 2011, the U.S. Army became the first military branch to eliminate DADT and end decades of controversy, bigotry and wasteful, forced dismissal of thousands of honorable, qualified and dedicated service personnel who happened to be gay or lesbian. There are many online stories; here is a good place to start. (sb)
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Eighty-eight year old gay veteran of World War II celebrates end of DADT In a poignant speech, 88-year old Jack Strouss, (pictured) who served honorably in the U.S. Army in World War II and as an openly gay man--an extremely rare and brave stance at the time--celebrated the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell at a ceremony in Atlanta this past weekend. Click here to read the story and here to scroll down to a moving video of Strouss' comments. (sb)
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AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) phone numbers
ADAP for Riverside County has a new fax number. Clients can now fax their verifications to the Moreno Valley office at 951.486.4434. You can also contact the County of Riverside directly at 951.486.5400 to make an ADAP appointment or get more information. (jl)
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Call 211 for essential human services in Riverside County
2-1-1 is a toll-free service for residents looking for information about essential human services such as affordable housing, food pantries, help for an aging parent, free or low cost health services, addiction prevention programs, employment, support groups, volunteer opportunities, and 1,700 additional services! (jl)
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"When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."
--Sergeant/Vietnam veteran Leonard Matlovich (expelled from the Air Force in 1975 for being gay, died of AIDS in 1988) "I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough. But do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach. I will end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That is my commitment to you."
--President Barack Obama, 2009 |
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Desert AIDS Project - Community Action Newsletter (DAPCAN) presents published material, reprinted with permission, and neither endorses or opposes any material. All information contained in this newsletter, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. Always discuss treatment options with a physician who specializes in treating HIV. Publication of the name or likeness of any individual in articles in this newsletter is not to be construed as any indication of the HIV status of such individual. If you do not wish to receive this e-newsletter, please notify us by using the email address below.
For questions, comments, or unsubscribe contact us at : DAPCAN@DesertAIDSProject.org
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